Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
by xInspired
Summary: The Western Air Temple wasn't exactly uninhabitated when the Gaang seeks refuge there after their failed invasion on the Fire Nation. Who is the young firebender with pain-filled eyes and can she be trusted? More summary inside... Rated T for now.
1. Hello Tragic Loss and Unbearable Pain

Disclaimer: A:TLA is not mine. However, the main character _is_ mine.

_Summary:_

_The Western Air Temple wasn't exactly uninhabitated when the Ganng seeks refuge there after their failed invasion on the Fire Nation. Who is the young firebender with pain-filled eyes and can she be trusted? What happens when Zuko has feelings for a girl who obviously harbors so much hatred toward him?_

_music: "Swan Song" - Jake Epstein _

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A gust of wind tossed a young girl's long ebony locks behind her. She had been in one of the windier parts of the temple searching for ripe peaches. The fruit was at it's peak as the season was coming to an end. She would need to preserve some for the winter. She smiled as a flashback of her father showing her how to make peach preserves ran through her mind. Her chest tightened a bit at the memory. She wished he were still with here with her. It's been three years since he was taken away, but the pain of his loss is still fresh in her heart.

She picked some of the juciest peaches she could find and placed them in the cloth bag that was swung across her chest. She then turned and made her way back to the other side of the temple. As she walked she gazed up at the familiar faces of the air nomads carved in stone. She wondered what they would think of a fire nation refugee living in their sacred temple. She felt immediate sadness upon realizing that she would never know. The Fire Nation had wiped out airbenders long before she was born. It made her ashamed to be called a firebender. How could her people do something so awful?

She and her father shared the same views when it came to the war. It was the reason she had been living at the Western Air Temple for the past eleven years. Her father had been a great general. He hated the war, but fought in it for many years. His great strategic skills and powerful bending quickly rose him through the ranks until he was Fire Lord Ozai's top war advisor. Fire Lord Ozai was not a stupid man though. He could see her father's hatred for the war. It was there in his eyes as he plotted another way to take over another piece of the world. He thought the fire nation was the worse kind of evil for terrorizing the world for so many years. But, he kept his mouth shut. For speaking out against his nation would put his wife and daughter in great danger.

Ozai did not trust his top advisor. Although he would never admit it, the Fire Lord was afraid of this man. For one, he was afraid of the young man's superior firebending skills, which far surpassed his own. But that was not his biggest fear. The thing he feared most was that the man was secretly plotting the Fire Nation's downfall. He certaintly had the intelligence and motive to do it. Ozai's paranoia soon led him to hire an assasin to kill his best advisor. He could not risk losing his precious war.

Years in a war he hated had ended up saving the young general and his family. The ability to sense even the tiniest of movements was a skill the general had picked up when he was a new soilder in the heart of the chaos. The Earth Kingdom had some of the best shooters in the world. They would hide high up in the trees and fire at you from hundreds of meters away. If you didn't learn to listen for the quiet whistle of an arrow slicing through the air then you were as good as dead.

That night as he laid in bed beside his wife, he heard the slight whoosh of a body slipping in through the window and the very light tap of their feet as they landed stealthily on the tiled floor. He quickly grabbed for the blade he kept wedged between the wall and the mattress. He knew the assasin would come for him first, so he lay there and feigned sleep. He felt the shadow creep over his still form and saw the glint of the blade in their uprised hand through his slitted eyes. Striking his blade out like a cobra, he slit the masked man's throat, any screams he had instantly dieing in his throat. Looking over to see if he had woken his wife, he slipped out of bed and rolled the body underneath the mattress. He quickly gathered up his wife and five year old daughter and slipped away into the night.

After traveling aimlessly for days they had happened upon the magneficent air temple hidden from the world under the cliff. The place had been deserted for decades. Despite the lack of human life, the temple still flourished with fruits of every kind and gardens overfilled with beautiful flowers and exotic vegetables. There were fountains brimming with cool water and the young general took it all in he knew that he had found the perfect refuge for his beloved family.

When the girl was but ten years old her mother had fallen ill with a terrible flu. She was to frail to fight off the sickness without the aid of medicine, and her fever finally claimed her on a cold winter night. The young general held his wife's hand as she took her last breath.

His daughter had found him hunched over her mother's corpse in the still night sobbing and begging her to come back to him. The memory of her mother's lifeless eyes and her father's despereate pleas had haunted her dreams for years to come.

She remembers the day they had laid her mother to rest very well. The flames had swallowed her up and the wind blew her ashes off the side of the ledge into the misty unknown.

For the next three years she and her father helped each other heal. They held each other through the rage and tears, becoming closer and closer with every tear shed. Her father was all she had left in the world.

After her mother's death he had made the choice to start his daughter's firebending training. The loss of his wife had been a wake up call for him. He could die at any moment of any day. But before he left this Earth, he was going to make sure his daughter had all the skills necessary to survive.

Over the next three years his daughter proved to be a prodigy much like himself. She was able generate lightening by her thirteenth birthday. Firbending came so naturally to her and with every move she mastered his pride for her swelled even more.

Her father had become her best friend. He taught her not only how to firebend, but how to look for the best fruit, and how to make thread to mend her clothes. He taught her how to use a bow and arrow as well as how to wield dual dao swords. She beamed with pride at every word of his praise after she had mastered something he taught her. And alongside the lessons of cooking and fighting were the lessons of life. Lessons of compassion and forgivness.

She cherrishes the long walks filled with words of his wisdom and the playful hours spent splashing around in the cool water during hot summer days.

A stronger relationship between a father and daughter was unheard of.

The day the young girl lost her father was filled with rage and grief and such despair that she almost threw herself off the ledge of the temple to escape the choking pain that was gripping her heart.

It was only three months after her thirteenth birthday. She had been practicing generating lightening on her own when her father had come running through the stone pillars with panic stricken eyes. He dragged her to the farthest side of the temple and tucked her away in a secret cove he had stumbled upon during one of his many walks through the temple. Her father's eyes had been glistening with unshed tears as he gave his daughter specific instructions to not leave the cove until he had come back for her or she had heard no sound for two days. She began protesting as her father's panic triggered her own. He pleaded with her to do as she asked. She did so only after he promised he would return for her. He embraced his daughter tightly and reminded her that he loved her with everything in him. She told her father the same and watched with worried eyes as he closed her in the cove.

He felt so guilty for making a promise to his daughter that he could not honor. But he needed her to calm down so she would listen to him. With the image of his daughter in his mind, he rushed to face his demise.

She would later learn that her generating lightening had been the cause for the Fire Nation prince to bring his fleet to the hidden temple. The Prince was familiar with the traitor general and had him imprisoned, hoping that by bringing back a traitor his father would restore his honor. Guilt had overwhelmed the young girl nearly driving her to suicide. As she stared off into the mist that floated in the open air, she heard her father's voice praising her strength and could not go through with it. Instead she grasped at a nearly non-existent hope. Maybe her father had escaped and was on his way back to her. He was capable of doing so she told herself. She prayed to whatever deity that was watching over her that her father would not die at the hands of the Fire Lord or his son.

Once General Iroh had realized just who his nephew had captured he pleaded with him to spare the man's life, for he would surely die if he was returned to the Fire Nation. The young prince had no intentions of listening to his uncle's pleading until he was told of how the prisoner had been one of his uncle's closest friends, and had saved his life on many occasions. He relunctantly let the prisoner go. It was the least he could for his uncle who has been by his side since his father had banished him weeks before. Besides, it was the avatar the Fire Lord wanted, not some forgotten traitor.

The former general was shocked by the mercy shown by the young boy, but showed no hesitation as he hurried back to his daughter. But fate was against him as he had been captured once again. Only this time it was by a cruel, young captain by the name of Zhao. The captain was sure to get promoted up to general once he turned in the traitor to the Fire Lord. All hope was lost for the girl's father. He died at the unmerciful hands of Fire Lord Ozai.

Months passed before the girl gave up hope of her father ever returning. She was truly alone now, and the urge to fling herself off the ledge had returned. She pushed the urge away though. Her father would not have wanted his daughter to take her own life.

Over the next year the girl continued on with life. Her pain never let up. It nawed at her insides every minute of every day. Sometimes the knots in her throat made it hard to breathe, and she would lay crumpled on the ground choking on sobs and gasping for air.

They say time heals all wounds. Well she was learning that this statement was very untrue. Her pain never relented, her wounded heart never healed. Instead she just grew strong enough to deal with it day to day. Her tears came less frequently now and she finally stopped standing near the edge of the temple contemplating how long it would take her to hit the bottom.

She finally had a carefree day after two and half years. She was walking through the temple when she passed a wall with paintings on it. She was shocked that she was still finding new things in the temple after so many years of living here. The paintings depicted huge, furry beasts with six legs and arrow markings soaring through the air. There were people in the air also, gliding around on what looked like huge fans. Their joyful expressions triggered a smile of her own and then she knew. Her grief may always be there, lurking in the corners of her mind, but she didn't have to be sad all the time. Her father always said that you only have one life to live, so make the best of it. Over the next six months there was a definite change in her mood. Waking up wasn't so hard anymore. She actually enjoyed her strolls through the temple and was able to remember the wonderul memories of her father and mother without breaking down. She thought of them often now. Her father's warm smiles and witty retorts and her mother's love-filled eyes and fiery attitude.

There were still reminders of her pain though. Sometimes, without warning, the choking sobs would return. Or she would wake up in the middle of the night screaming at the top of her lungs while tears streaked down her cheeks. She didn't believe that they would ever end. Not even if she lived to be one hundred years old

It got better though, and in time she was able to enjoy her solitary life.

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**A/N: I adore Zuko's character. But, I don't like the idea of him with Katara, Mei, Toph, Ty Lee, Sokka, or any other character for that matter. So, I made my own character. One I can actually imagine him with. I hope you like her. She's experienced enough pain to last her two lifetimes. But she's not all doom and gloom like Mei. She's passionate and witty and an amazing firebender. Giver her a chance?**

**And please excuse grammatical/spelling errors. Proofreading is not one of my strengths. Reading something I wrote over and over only leads to a headache for me.**

**xInspired**


	2. Discovering New Friends

_music: "My Medicine" - The Pretty Reckless_

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The sun's rays were bouncing off the walls in her room as the young girl roused from her slumber. She stretched and rubbed the sleep from her tired eyes with balled fists. Slipping out of the white sheets, she rose to began her day. After bathing in one of the more private fountains she dressed in a dark red tunic, forgoing her leggings and slipping into her leather boots that laced up her calves. It was a particualry hot day and the wind felt great against her exposed legs. She slipped the gold bands up to wrap around her slim, but toned biceps, then set off to the front of the temple.

She usually started off her days with meditation, mimicking the poses of the stone air nomads. Then would stretch herself out with some simple yoga poses. After her mind and body were free, she would practice her bending. She remembers her father's voice as she goes through the motions. His brass tenor telling her how to keep her motions controlled and fluid. Breathing deeply, she slid her feet along the stone and made a sweeping arch with her hands, blasting fire out of her palms. The fire swirled around in her in a chaotic dance of reds and oranges. She closed her eyes, relinquinshing the power flowing through her blood. Smiling, she came back into a standing postion, her fingers sparking as her palms came to rest in front of her chest.

After another hour of practicing, she decided to go hunt for something fresh to eat. She was on her way to the gardens when she heard what sounded like laughter.

She immediately ducked into the shadows of the temple. Listening closely, she followed the group of voices until she came upon three boys. They were not dressed in the traditional fire nation colors. She sighed in relief when she realized that they were not with the fire nation army.

"This place is _amazing_" a young boy wearing a helmet said in wonderment. "Yea, it's a lot different than the Northeren Air Temple." said another boy who was riding in a chair with wheels on it. The oldest boy with a silly mustache just gazed around, taking in the beauty of the temple. "The others sure are missing out" he said after a moment of silence. "Eh, they'll explore when they get a chance" the boy in the chair replied. "In the meantime, I want to find the statue room, so come on!" He sped up in his chair and the other boys took off after him laughing. Not once did they notice the raven-haired girl creeping in the shadows.

She quickly scaled the wall hopping up onto the stone beams that supported the temple's ceilings. Jumping from one beam to another like a cat, she set off to see who the others were. She hoped that maybe these people were just tourist, but deep down she knew that was a far-fetched hope. No one has been to the temple as long as she has lived here. Well, except for the soilders who captured her father so many years ago.

She finally heard other voices as she turned down one hall. Keeping to the high beams she sneaked up to where she could get a better look.

_Why, they're just a bunch of kids! _she thought as she looked down at the scene below girl wasn't sure what she was expecting to find exactly, but it sure as hell wasn't what she was looking at now.

Toph immediately "saw" the girl who was hiding in the high beams of the temple. "Uh guys, we have company" she said standing up and taking a defensive stance. Katara and Sokka looked up in the direction Toph had mentioned and saw a shadowed figure with narrow emerald green eyes glaring at them.

"Who are you?" Katara demanded. "Show yourself!" With a stomp of her foot, Toph sent the stone beam crumbling to the ground, bringing the girl with it.

Realizing what was happening, the shadowed girl kicked off the wall and landed in a crouch before the strangers. She immediately straightened up in a defensive positon as well, and stared down the imposters.

Katara, seeing the fire nation red tunic, immediately pulled a ribbon of water out of the fountain and wrapped it around the girl's leg, causing her to lose her balance and fall on her back.

Twisting off of the ground the fire nation girl shot blasts of fire at Katara with her feet. With a fluid motion of her hands, Katara sent a wave of water towrads the girl. She was quick though and rolled out of the way of the attack. Running to try and get a better angle on the waterbender, she sent blast after blast of raw firepower at the girl, knocking her on her ass and singeing her clothes.

Toph stepped in and sent up a wall in front of them to stop the blasts, and then sent it flying towards the other girl, pinning her to the wall. Toph then locked her hands and feet in stone, rendering the girl helpless.

The girl growled in frustration, she was sorely outnumbered. "Why are you here! What do you want with me?" she yelled.

Toph scoffed "Hunny, I don't think you're in any position to be demanding answers. If anyone is going to be getting answers around here, it's us."

The other girl smirked slightly, then by super heating her body, she weakened the stone enough to break through it. When she was free she kicked off the wall behind her and summersaulted through the air, landing on the small earthbender. She glanced over and saw the waterbender getting ready to strike.

"Ah ah ah, I wouldn't do that princess, not unless you want me to fry your little friend here." She held back a flaming fist ready to strike if necessary. The waterbender backed off but held her defensive stance.

She smirked down at the sassy little earthbender. "Now _hunny_, about those answers I wanted." The girl writhed beneath her and growled in frustration at getting her butt handed to her.

"What's going on here?" The girl looked up and gasped at the boy before her. Recognition flashed in her eyes as she spotted the arrow tattoos adorning his body.

Seeing her chance, Katara knocked the girl off of Toph with a blast of water. She landed back near the wall coughing and sputtering. Toph jumped up quickly and locked her hands and feet to the earth once more.

The airbender immediately took charge and walked up to her. He crouched down in front of her, boring his gray eyes into her green ones. "You're going to tell us who you are and who sent you, understand?" The boy said authoritively. The firebender narrowed her eyes. She did not appreciate some twelve year old boy giving her orders.

She really didn't have any other choice though. With a sigh she answered, her voice as hard a steel. "My name is Aaliyah, and no one _sent_ me. I live here."

The boy looked taken back at her answer "You...live here? In the temple?" She nodded. He turned to look at the earthbender who shrugged. "She's not lying."

The boy looked back at her. "Why are living here?" he asked, his voice hard. She looked down and swallowed. "Eleven years ago, Fire Lord Ozai tried to have my family killed. My father found this place and decided it would be the perfect refuge from the Fire Nation." The boy's gray eyes softened when he heard the stifled saddness in the girl's voice.

"You're a refugee." She nodded. "Why did you attack my friends?" She looked back up. "They attacked first." she said indgantly. The boy looked around to glare at his friends. Toph and Katara were looking incredibly sheepish. When Aang leveled his gaze on Toph she huffed. "What? She was spying on us?" He rolled his eyes and turned back to the girl.

"Why were you spying on us?"

"Because you're strangers, and well, the last time strangers were at this temple my father was taken away and probably killed." she bit out, her voice icy. Aang's eyes widened at yet another sad admisson from the girl. "Well, if your father is gone, then does that mean your mother is still around." Aaliyah swallowed and took a deep breath. "No, she died a long time ago" she said, saddness lacing her voice though she tried to hide it.

Katara couldn't stay mad a the girl any longer after hearing that admission. She walked forward already feeling a connection with the girl. She knelt down beside Aang. "We didn't come here to cause you any harm. Aang here", she rested a hand on the airbenders shoulder, "is the avatar as well as the last known airbender." Aaliyah snapped her eyes over to the young boy who looked sheepish all of a sudden. "Impossible. You're just a boy. The avatar would be nearly one hundred years old by now." She said incredulously.

"A hundred and twleve to be exact." Aang said. Aaliyah shook her head, completely baffled. "So, you guys are what? His posse or something." A boy who was standing off to the side said, "We prefer Team Avatar." Katara smiled and shook her head. "Ignore my brother. I'm actually Aang's waterbending teacher, Katara, and Toph over there is his earthbending teacher."

Katara's brother scoffed. "What am I? Chopped liver?" He walked a little closer to the girl. "I'm Sokka, strategic genius and sword master extroidinaire." He did a muscle pose and tried to look buff. The girl raised an eyebrow at the odd boy. "Well now that I know that you're not here to harm me, can you let me go?"

Toph scoffed. "Why, so you can shoot fire at us again?" Aaliyah rolled her eyes. "I promise not to attack if you let me up." Aang smiled and made a motion with his hands, releasing the girl from her stone entrapments.

Aaliyah brushed the dust off of her as she stood. "What brings you all to the Western Air Temple?" she asked steaming the water out of her hair.

"Weellll, we're kind of hiding from the Fire Nation." Aang said. Aaliyah laughed dryly. "Aren't we all. Why are you running from them?"

"We launched an invasion on the Fire Nation capital, and failed." replied Sokka. "Woah, ballsy." Aaliyah said, impressed by their courage.

"Yeah, and since that didn't work out we're going back to plan A." Toph spoke this time. "What's plan A?"

"Aang needs to master all four elements, then he'll take down the Fire Lord." Aaliyah's eyes flashed with fury when her father's killer was mentioned.

"Well I sincerely hope you succeed with that Aang." God knows how much Aaliyah wants to see that bastard and his twisted family fall.

Aang sighed. "There's just one problem with the plan. I can't find a firebending teacher." Aaliyah stared at him patiently, waiting for him to come to the realization that she was, in fact, a firebender.

"Heyyy, wait a second. _You're_ a firebender!" Aang said pointing his finger at Aaliyah. She smirked. "I sure am, and if you ask nicely I might just teach you everything I know."

"Hold up just a second." Toph said before Aang started begging. "How do we even know that she's qualified to teach Aang firebending."

"Well, if I remember correctly, I had you pinned on the ground just minutes ago." Aaliyah smirked, and Toph scoffed. "That was a suprise attack. It doesn't count."she muttered.

Aaliyah rolled her eyes, the girl's ego was clearly bruised. "Alright then, how about a little demonstration." Aaliyah took a deep breath, centering herself. Then twisted and slid across the stone. She demonstrated a series of motions, her powerful fire blasts contrasting with her graceful movements. With her final demonstration, she steadied herself and with her index and middle finger together, she did a series of movements with her arms before lightening shot out from her fingertips and off the ledge of the temple, crackling through the air. Bringing her hands back together in front of her chest, she took another deep steadying breath. She turned around to see the awed faces of her audience.

Aang jumped up from his seated position waving his arms about. "That. Was. _AMAZING_!"

Sokka's mouth was hanging open, and he had a lusty glimmer in his eyes. Her tunic split very high up on her thighs, and her legs looked so, smooth and..wow. Aang too had noticed her lithe body, and the way her waist-length hair twirled around her pretty face as she twisted in the air. She made firebending look like a beautiful art.

"Yeah" Katara agreed. "I never realized the beauty and power of bending lightening. We've only seen one other person do it, and well, we were too busy trying to avoid it that we really didn't have the time to admire it."

Aaliyah chuckled. "Yes, well, generating lightening is firebending in it's truest form. Very few firebenders are able to seperate the negative and positive energy in their bodies. My father was one of them, and he taught me." She sat down with group. "Just out of curiosity, who was the person shooting lightening at you?"

Katara's face quickly morphed into a scowl "Princess Azula." she said with distaste. "She also shoots blue fire."

"Like this" Aaliyah produced a blue fame in her palm. Katara nodded.

"How can you do that?" Aang asked, scooting closer.

"Firebenders can control the intensity of their firebending. There are many different colors within fire." She demonstrated this by changing the intensity of the flame in her hand. The flame danced around as it's colors changed from orange, red, yellow, white, purple, and green. "Each color has it's own properties. A blue flame is more effiecent than the standard orange-yellow flames. It's also very hot, so hot that it actually feels cold. Like freezer burn. It posseses more physical force and superheats the air around it, making the blasts go farther and last longer. It also requires more energy than bending regular yellow-orange flames. Most benders tire out quickly when controlling the intensity like that."

"I never knew how, _complex_, fire was." Aang whispered.

"Fire is more than just destruction Aang. It's energy and life. Like the sun, but inside of you." Aaliyah smiled a little as she repeated the very words her father said to her so many years ago.

"The first time I tried to firebend, I burned Katara. I don't know if I can trust myself with it."

"Firebending is something you have to be careful with. If you can't control yourself then you hurt the people around you. If you can't conquer the turmoil inside of you, then you can't truly _master_ firebending. You have to learn to control irrational emotions that might interfere, and develop an unflinching will."

Aang smiled at the raven-haired girl. He stood and bowed "Aaliyah, I would be honored if you would be my firebending teacher." Aaliyah stood as well and bowed back. "It would be my honor to teach you all that I know."

Sokka came over and clapped her on the back. "Welcome to Team Avatar" he grinned.

Toph stood up, clearly displeased "Yes, we're so_ happy _to have you." She said sarcasticly. Aaliyah mock pouted. "Awh, is teh wittle earthbender still mad that the big bad firebender got the best of her."

Toph's face turned purple with rage. "That's it Sparky! Rematch, _now_." she growled.

Aalyiah giggled in delight. "Ooo, sassy." she quipped. "I'll show _you_ sassy!" Toph raged, stomping her foot on the ground bringing up a huge boulder, then punching it towards the firebender.

Aaliyah did a roundhouse kick, shattering the boulder with a fire blast. They battled for the next twenty minutes, insulting and bending at each other. Toph's clothes were singed on the edges and Aaliyah was covered in dirt when they finally took time to breathe.

The other boys that Aaliyah followed earlier had returned and were now watching the action with the others.

"Should we stop them?" Haru asked, staring at the firebender's bare legs. "Nah, they need to work this out own their own." Sokka said dismissively.

Both Toph and Aaliyah were breathing deeply, waiting for each other to strike. Toph smiled as the firebender stared her down, then stood out of her stance and started laughing. Aaliyah looked confused for a second before joining in on her laughter. The group of spectators looked at each other questionaly and shrugged.

Aaliayh walked up to Toph and threw her arm around the small girl. "You're not bad kid." Toph punched her in the arm. "Yea, you're pretty good yourself."

The rest of the night was spent around the campfire, joking around and laughing at all the crazy adventures Aang and his friends experienced over the past few months. Though she wouldn't say it out loud, Aaliyah was thankful that these people had come here. The heavy blanket of loneliness had been lifted off of her shoulders and she felt like she could move around with ease now. She felt care-free and happy. Two feelings that had been foreign to her for such a long time.

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**A/N: I re-read the original second chapter, and hated it. So I re-wrote it. Hopefully you get a little more insight on Aaliyah's personality. And yes, she's just as good, if not better than Azula when it comes to firebending. Remember that for later chapters. Plus, Aaliyah is a very attractive girl. She hails from noble fire nation blood. So she get's quite a bit of attention from the boys. Also, the guys are used to girls wearing leggings or pants under their tunics like Katara and Toph. Aaliyah doesn't really like leggings or long-sleeved undershirts unless it's cold. So she leaves her legs and arms bare. Just sayin'. Anywho, this chapter is still dedicated to KeBzO and clearspring2009 (: Thank you lovely reviewers. Zuko and angst next chapter.**

**xInspired**


	3. Uncontrollable Fury and an Old Grudge

_music: "You're Going Down" - Sick Puppies_

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Aaliyah's eyes opened to the sun shining in through her window. She loved the sun. Something about it made her pulse thump stronger, and the energy in her body thrive. Maybe it was a fire bender thing? She stretched her arms over her head, shuddering at the delicious feeling of her limbs awakening. Grabbing a towel, she headed for the fountain she regularly bathed in. After the grime had been scrubbed from her body, she sat on the edge of the stone combing through her hair. This fountain was her absolute favorite. It was set in the side of the temple and had a waterfall that ran the length of the wall of the temple. It wasn't very big, but it was deep. Sometimes she would come out here at night when the stars would sparkle on the dark water. It was very beautiful, and kind of magical.

After drying off and dressing she headed to the front of the temple to see that the group of newcomers had already been up and about. Katara was washing clothes in a fountain using her water bending while Toph lounged on a slab of rock humming to herself. Haru, Teo, and The Duke were finishing up their breakfast of white rice and Aang was petting and cooing at some huge furry beast.

Her eyes widened as she turned back to Aang. "What is _that_?" she all but screeched at him. He turned to her, confused. "Uh, this is Appa, my flying bison." The beast made a groaning noise and nuzzled Aang's face. He laughed and rubbed it's nose. "Why don't you come say hi?" Seeing the terrified expression on her face, Aang walked up and took her hand, leading her to stand right in front of the beast. "Appa this is Aaliyah. Aaliyah, this is Appa." Appa groaned again and slid his huge slimy tongue against her face. "Bleh, okay, okay. Nice to meet you to" she said wiping the bison slober off her face.

She turned to Aang. "Ready for your first firebending lesson?"

He gulped and nodded. A bright smile lit up her features. "Wonderful!"

They meditated and stretched first, and Aaliyah taught Aang a few yoga poses to help loosen him up.

"Okay, I want you to fire bend for me. No matter how tiny the flame, I wanna see it." Aaliyah stood with her arms crossed, scrutinizing his every move with narrowed eyes. Aang took a deep breath then punched his arm out, producing smoke.

Aaliyah tutted at him. "Sloppy, sloppy. You need to sharpen your movements and regualte your breathing."

Aang sighed. "I just don't know if I can trust myself with this. What if I hurt someone?"

"Aang, if you want to be a fire bender you have to let go of that fear. Remember what I said yesterday about developing an unflinching will?" He nodded.

"Well that's what I want you to do right now. I want you to convince yourself that you will not hurt anyone today. The only way you can hurt someone is if you allow it to happen. Are you going to allow that to happen?" She asked him sharply.

"No" Aang said with determination, straightening up and puffing out his chest. "Good. Now I want you to find the determination to be a great fire bender and grasp on to it with an iron grip. Tell yourself that you _will_ master this, and nothing is going to stop you."

"I _will _master fire bending." Aang said with a steeling breath.

"Now Aang, tell me what you feel."

Aang's nose scrunched up as he felt heat swirling in his belly like molten lava. He also felt something akin to electricity coursing through his veins. It felt like pure energy and adrenaline.

"I feel...energy, and heat. It sort of feels like an adrenaline rush." Aaliyah smile ruefully.

"Very good. Now I want you to grasp onto that heat and push it up and through your veins with the energy your feeling. Move your body with it and expel it from your fingertips."

Aang did as she said. Using his body movements to guide the heat from his belly and into his blood flow with the adrenaline. He turned and thrust his arm out and expelled the heat and adrenaline through his palms.

He was shocked to see the strong orange-yellow flame that burst forth from his palm. He looked over to Aaliyah who was smiling at him proudly. "Now _that _was some fire bending." Aang smiled triumphantly, happy that she was pleased with him. And then their lesson really began.

Aang learned that the fighting style used in fire bending was a lot more aggressive than air bending. And though he still had to be well grounded, like in earth bending, he found that his foundation must be flexible and he must be able to move quickly and be nimble. The movements were graceful like water bending, but it required more power. There wasn't much defense in fire bending except for the firewall. It was more of a strike and evade type thing.

Bending came naturally for Aang. He got the hang of it in no time and Aaliyah was very pleased with his progress. It didn't come as easy as water bending had, but was no where near as challenging as earth bending had been.

Aang was panting after a particularly brutal sparring match with Aaliyah. The girl was ruthless, even when she was taking it easy. She was much better than any other fire bender he had ever fought, and that included Azula. There was no doubt in his mind that with her help, he could defeat the fire lord.

Aaliyah was grinning and smoothing down her wavy hair as Aang caught his breath. He was a little miffed that she hadn't even broken a sweat. "Well Aang, I have to say, you're progressing very well. If we keep your training up, you'll be ready to take the fire lord by the time Sozin's comet arrives."

They walked back to main fountain where the others had been resting.

"How's it goin' Ali?" Toph asked brightly as Aaliyah sunk down next to her.

"Ali? Eh, better than sparky I guess", she shrugged.

"How did Twinkle Toes do with the fire bending lesson?"

"Well, he's not too bad actually. His form needs to sharpen up, and his fire blasts are kind of weak. But other than that he's progressing quite nicely."

"Who taught you how to fire bend?" Toph inquired.

Aaliyah smiled faintly, remembering her father. "My dad was my teacher."

Toph noticed the reverence in the girl's voice. "You must have really loved him."

"I did. I still do."

"So what exactly happened to him?"

"The Prince of the Fire Nation captured him, and most likely took him to the fire lord to be executed" Aaliyah said grimly.

Toph's eyebrows furrowed.

"You mean Prince Zuko?" Aaliyah gritted her teeth and nodded. Remembering that the girl was blind, she bit out a 'yes'.

"Yeah, that guy's a real pain. He's been tracking Aang all over the world, trying to capture him. He's got some fixation on restoring his honor. His uncle's a really nice guy though"

"Uncle?"

"General Iroh. He's a decent guy. He actually helped us out in Ba Sing Se. I'm guessing he's sitting in some fire nation prison now for helping us."

Aaliyah smiled and shook her head. "I should have figured he'd help the avatar."

"Wait, you know him?"

"Mmhm. My family hails from noble fire nation blood. My ancestors were the original royal family before Sozin's great-great grandfather took the throne. Despite losing the throne, my family retained their high class status. My father and Iroh entered the war together. They were the best of friends for a very long time. I remember when Iroh would come over for tea with my parents. He would bring his son Lu Ten with him. He was a few years older than I, but we always had so much fun together. He would ride me around on his back for hours. Iroh was fond of me as well. He always brought me sweet treats and such when he came to visit. He was such a kind man."

"He gives great advice to." Toph added.

Aaliyah giggled. "I would assume so. He and my father shared a great dislike for the war. That's why I'm not suprised he would do anything he could to help end it."

"Yeah, and he was pretty good at keeping the Prince in line. I'm actually suprised Zuko turned his back on him. They seemed very close."

"Well, what else would you expect from a power hungry prince? He's been trying to restore his honor so he wouldn't lose his throne." Aaliyah said bitterly.

Toph shrugged. "He _is _Ozai's son."

Aaliyah pulled herself off the ground claiming that she was hungry. "All we have to eat is rice." Katara said from beside the campfire.

Aaliyah smirked and asked her to get an empty bag and follow her. Katara almost fainted with delight when she saw the garden full of vegetables and fruits. After picking a little of everything, they headed back to start lunch.

Everyone cheered when Katara announced that they would be eating something flavourful for once. Aaliyah helped Katara prepare dinner while everyone else lounged around. Katara grinned over at the girl, receiving a confused look in return. "What?" Aaliyah asked, feeling weirded out by the water benders grin. "Oh nothing." Katara replied still grinning. "It's just nice having another girl around who knows how to cook and stuff. Toph isn't very helpful. It's a handful taking care of a bunch of boys."

Toph made a 'ahem' noise in the back of her throat. "Oh, and Toph."

Aaliyah shrugged. "It feels nice, you know? Having people around. I've been here by myself for quite a long time. It gets lonely."

"Haven't you ever thought of leaving? I mean you could get out and travel the world if you wanted." Katara replied.

"I have thought about it. But this place has been home to me for so long. I think it'd be dificult to just up and leave."

"You could always come back."

Aaliyah nodded. "Maybe I will leave this place. It'd be nice to get out and see the world."

"You could always come with us. You're kind of part of the group now." Katara said brightly.

Aaliyah smiled at her and nodded. The idea of having friends sure beat the idea of hanging around a lonely temple. She added a little more fuel to the fire and Katara gathered the others around to eat.

The next few days passed uneventfully. Aaliyah trained Aang, helped Katara with her mothering, and joked around with Toph and Sokka. It was kind of nice.

Her new family (yes, an actual family) was helping her to forgot the pain of her past. She believed that somewhere, her father was watching over her, and that he was happy she was not alone anymore.

Things were going so well. Until _he_ showed up. The boy who took the most important person in her life from her. The boy who had her standing on a precipice, contemplating death.

She was walking towards the front of the temple to meet up with Aang and to start today's lesson, then paused in the shadows when she heard Toph's voice.

"I think that'll have to wait" Toph said, anger lacing her words.

Aaliyah watched the girl point behind her as Appa moved to the side, revealing the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. She took in the appearance of the teenager in front of her. The years of banishment had taken a toll on him. His eyes were a mixture of regret and hesitation. He was thin and his hair had grown longer and was very unkempt. His clothes were dirty with travel and his body was slightly slumped with fatigue. This was not the pristine prince that had come to the temple all those years ago.

The most noticeable difference though, was the scar. Her mind flashed back to an image of her father kneeling before the Prince and his bandaged face. His eyes (or eye, rather) were cruel back then. The amber was hardened with anger and desperation. She had snuck out of the cavern her father had placed her in, only to see him dragged away in chains.

_"So you were the one generating lightening from down here." The Prince stated. His voice devoid of emotion. Her father held his gaze and nodded. _

_The Prince, who was no older than her at the time, turned his back and walked away, issuing a command to throw the traitor into the prison cell. He didn't fight back or struggle as the soldier's bound his hands and threw him over their shoulders. Her father's face was simply resigned. He could feel no anger or regret. His actions were to protect his daughter. And if willingly giving up his life meant keeping her safe and alive, then he'd do it in a heartbeat. Her life was more precious to him than anything else on this Earth._

_Aaliyah gasped and covered her mouth as tears streaked down her face. Her father was sacrificing his life for her. He was being taken away and she was too young and scared to do anything about it._

_After they had left she broke into hysterics. Angry with herself for not saving him._

She felt the tears threatening to spill over as she looked into the eyes of her fathers capturer. The young man before her was the same boy that had delivered him to his death.

Suddenly, white hot fury rushed through her body. Her vision was tinted with a red haze and her thoughts were no longer sane. What she was feeling couldn't even be described as fury. It was so much worse than that. It was like anger, fury, rage, and every other synonym for the feeling had combined into one and was multiplied by ten.

She stalked forward, her gaze trained on the scarred boy in front of her.

"Hi, Zuko he-" Zuko paused as he saw the girl step forward from the shadows of the temple. Her jade eyes were focused on his. He saw something familiar in those eyes, like he had looked into them before.

Zuko's eyes widened in fear as he realized that the girl's entire body was alight with white flames. They engulfed her slight frame like a halo. Her long black hair was moving slightly around her face, being moved about by the heat of the flames.

Her body moved toward him like a jungle cat stalking it's prey. Graceful, but so very dangerous. She reminded him of an avenging angel. Alight with her fury.

As she glided closer he saw the manic look in her eyes. The look that thirsted for his blood. He stumbled backwards, tripping up on his feet and landing on his back.

"Aaliyah?" Katara called out to her, her body shaking with fear. This person didn't look like the girl she had become friends with. This girl, though beautiful, was absolutely terrifying in her rage.

Aang pulled her back behind him, shaking his head, signaling for her to not interfere.

Prince Zuko was trembling as the small girl bent down and gripped him by the throat. He yelped in pain as the flames burned his pale skin. She lifted him up, bringing back the flame a little, not ready to kill him yet.

"Do you recognize me Prince Zuko?" she asked, her green eyes boring into his amber ones. He suddenly remembered where he had seen those eyes before. It was about a month after his banishment. He had just begun his search for the avatar when he found a traitor of the fire nation living here. The traitor was a member of the Liu family. The original royal family. They were called the Gems of the Fire Nation because of their intense green eyes.

"You're a member of the Liu family." He choked out. She smiled at him serenely, her face dark and haunting. "Yes, my father was General Ren Liu. Do you recognize that name?"

"Yes, he was a traitor of the fire nation, I -" He stopped talking suddenly, making the connections in his head. He had captured General Ren years ago. He had taken a father away from his child. And now that child was going to kill him. Karma really did hate him.

She threw his body against a near by pillar. The rage was still pulsing through her body, feeding her strength, but something else was there as well. It was satisfaction, she realized. Satisfaction of finally getting revenge on the boy who had stolen so much from her all those years ago.

Aaliyah shot a blast of fire at Zuko's head. He ducked and rolled, barely escaping the attack. "Wait!" he pleaded. "I know why you want to kill me. But I never knew that he had a daughter here." She slid along the stone sending more flames his way. "I never took him back to the fire nation though. I released him!" he yelled, his voice still pleading for her to listen.

"Liar!" she roared before sending a blast of fire that knocked him up against the wall and burned his chest. "You delivered him to his deathbed! And now I'm sending you to yours." She said darkly, her arms circling her head as electricity sparked the air. "He's not lying." Toph said urgently to Aang. Aang rushed forward to try and stop her, but was sent flying backwards by a jolt of electricity.

Just as she sent the strike his way, Zuko stepped forward and redirected it. Aaliyah snarled and went in for another attack, but Toph stepped in and grabbed her wrists.

"Aaliyah! Listen to me!" Toph pleaded. "Zuko's not lying! He really did release your father. He didn't take him back to the fire nation!" Aaliyah paused and stared at the girl, confusion and pain clouding her eyes. She was well aware of the girl's ability to detect when a person's lying.

"No." She whispered. "He's lying. He sent my father to his grave!" she screamed.

Toph shook her head slowly, her heart aching for her broken friend. Aaliyah's body went limp suddenly as tears started streaking down her cheeks. Katara rushed forward to help Toph support the girl. All the rage she had been feeling suddenly died out, just like that, leaving behind a shell of a girl, haunted by the pain of losing the people who meant everything to her. She was empty now, and so very alone.

Katara and Toph took her to back her room were she blacked out upon hitting the mattress.

After the girls had left Aang turned to Zuko who was still looking shaken up by what had just occurred. "If you value your life, you won't be here when she comes back" he warned him.

Zuko nodded and dashed off.

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**A/N: Yeahh, she pretty much hates him...for now. It's a good thing Iroh taught Zuko how to redirect lightening, or he'd be a pile of ashes now. Just sayin' (: And yes, fire benders are pretty terrifying when they're out of control. _Especially _teenage girl fire benders. Hormonal teenage girls are terrifying anyway. Add in a three year grudge and master fire bending, and you have a deadly combo.**

**xInspired**


	4. The Truth and A New Addition

_music: "The Red" - Chevelle

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_

Aaliyah giggled as her father splashed water at her. "Tell me more about water benders daddy." She demanded and splashed water back at him. The day was hot and the cool water felt great on her sticky skin. "Well, they fight like the ocean moves. Gracefully, and powerfully." He used his arms to splash a wave of water over her head, soaking her dark hair. She laughed again and brushed the water from her eyes, "I already knew that. Tell me something different. Like, what is the original source of their bending?"

_He smiled down at her, happy with her thirst for knowledge. "It's something very different from the other three nations. Otherworldly even." _

"_Is it not an animal?" She asked curiously._

"_No, not an animal, but spirits. Two of them." Aaliyah's eyes widened in wonderment. "Which ones?" _

"_The ocean and the moon spirits. They saw how the moon commanded the tides, and learned how to do so themselves. That's why when the moon is at it's fullest, their bending is more powerful than ever. They become unbeatable." _

_She smiled at her father. "That's so cool." Her father laughed, his voice deep and comforting. "It is indeed." _

_Suddenly, the sky overhead darkened and the temperature dropped drastically. The sun had disappeared and she felt the heat and energy draining from her body, causing her to small form to shake. She looked over to her father in panic, and saw that his body was rapidly wasting away. His large muscles were deteriorating and his bones were becoming prominent. His sunken eyes looked at her in panic, silently pleading for help. She screamed and pushed through the water to grab on to him, but when she reached him, her arms closed around thin air._

A piercing scream split the air as Aaliyah jerked upward, rapidly awaking from her dream. Her head was pounding and her cheeks were wet with fresh tears. Breathing heavily, she wrapped her arms around her trembling body. Her limbs felt very weak, and her throat was dry. Just then, Katara walked in with a cup of cold water. She sat down on the bed and silently handed the liquid to Aaliyah.

Katara watched with worried eyes as the fire bender gulped down the cool water. "Thank you", Aaliyah's voice was barely above a whisper. "Are you okay?" Katara finally asked.

Aaliyah shook her head, "No, but I will be." Aaliyah jumped a little when she felt the water bender wrap her small arms around her. "You had us all so worried." Katara whispered.

Slowly, Aaliyah's arms came to wrap around the other girl and she sunk into her embrace. That's how Aang found the two girls when he walked in a few seconds later. "Uh, is every thing okay?" Aaliyah released Katara and smiled at him, motioning for him to join them on her bed.

"I'm so sorry for my behavior earlier. I just…" She stopped and took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to describe her actions.

"When I saw, _him_, it felt like the pain of the past six years combined inside my body at once. His face was the very embodiment of all that pain and rage, and I felt the need to destroy it. To bury it forever. Then Toph told me that he wasn't lying. That he didn't actually kill my father. And I just…"

"It's okay." Aang interrupted. "I know what you're talking about. When I saw the aftermath of the destruction of my people, I felt exactly what you felt. I turned into something terrifying…" He trailed off.

Aaliyah chuckled. "I'm sure I was pretty terrifying."

Katara spoke up then. "I've never seen anything like it! Your _entire body _was on _fire_. It was terrifying, yes. But so very, captivating. It was the purest show of power I've ever seen, other than seeing Aang in the Avatar state of course. Are other fire benders capable of that?"

Aaliyah shrugged. "I'm not sure. So, uh, what happened to the Prince?"

"I told him it was in his best interest to leave." Aang answered. "I wasn't sure what kind of state you would be in when you woke up." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Aaliyah nodded. "That was probably a good idea."

Aaliyah looked out her window. The sun had set and darkness had fallen over the temple. "You guys must be tired. Why don't you go back to sleep. I think I'm going to do the same."

Aang and Katara said their good nights and left to go to their separate rooms. Once they were gone Aaliyah slid out of bed. She had to balance herself as a wave of vertigo engulfed her. Once it passed, she grabbed her black cloak and disappeared into the night.

Zuko lay under his make-shift shelter, brooding over what had happened earlier. He felt guilty for the pain his actions had caused the girl. It seemed like he could never do anything right. All he wanted was to help play his part in ending the war, but the actions of his past wouldn't allow him to do that.

He sighed and rolled over, closing his eyes as sleep came to him.

He awoke sometime later. He could feel someones presence in the dark forest. Once he heard the nearly silent footsteps he shot up and sent a tongue of flames licking the ground, demanding to know who was in the shadows.

The flames suddenly went in the opposite direction he sent them and a cloaked form stepped out of the bushes. Zuko sat still as stone and watched small, delicate hands come up to remove the hood. The girl who attacked him at the temple revealed her face. Her skin was porcelain, painted pale in the moonlight. Her features were elegant. High cheekbones, full cherry-tinted lips, sharp nose, and wide emerald eyes that no longer burned with hatred. All framed by shiny, silken locks of obsidian hair that fell loosely to her waist.

She was by far the most beautiful girl the Prince had ever seen. If he had not known better, he would have thought she was royalty.

_Oh, wait…_

"Hello Prince Zuko." Her voice was smooth and sultry, but held a slight hesitation. Like she wasn't so sure she should be there.

"Have you come to kill me?" The burns from earlier were still fresh on his skin. She looked down and smiled slightly. "No, I just want to talk to you." She looked up at him and the Prince studied her eyes closely. When he found no ill intentions hidden in them he invited her to sit down.

She took off her cloak and settled down opposite of him. Zuko watched warily as she sat down, the slit in her tunic rising up to reveal more creamy flesh.

"First," she began. "I want to apologize for, uh, you know, trying to kill you. Seeing your face just sort of triggered something inside of me, and I snapped." She said quietly, staring at the ground.

"Apology accepted. I understand why you did. I can't imagine what you must think of me." She looked up at him then.

"Well, I thought you were a selfish, power-hungry prince who cared for no one else but himself. I believed you to be pure evil. But I'm not so sure anymore. Tell me, Prince Zuko, did you really release my father?"

"I did." Zuko tried to put as much conviction into his voice as possible. "My uncle convinced me that he was not worthy of what would happen to him if we returned him to my father. He told me of all the times the General had saved his life, and that if I never did anything else for him in life than that would be fine, so long as I released his friend. I felt like I owed it to my uncle to do this one thing for him. So I released him. We had only traveled a few miles from the temple. I figured he would have come back here."

"He never came back." Aaliyah said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I'm truly sorry. I regret ever taking him in the first place." Zuko said. His deep, raspy voice sounding sincere and full of remorse.

Aaliyah swallowed back her tears and nodded, accepting his apology. Someone else had taken her father, and one day she would figure out who.

"So, why did you come to the temple?" Aaliyah asked, suddenly very curious as to why the Prince would return there.

Zuko chuckled nervously. "Well, it's a long story."

"I have all night" was Aaliyah's reply. So the two fire benders sat across from one another as Zuko told his story from the beginning. He told her of his mother leaving, his banishment, his obsession with regaining his honor. He told her of his uncle and how he had been more of a father to him than his own. Everything up to him figuring out that his destiny was to help end the war, and that's why he had come to find the avatar. Why he told her all of this was still a mystery to him. But something deep inside his gut told him that if he was to going tell his life story to anyone, than this girl was that person.

Aaliyah listened to the boy with rapt fascination. Everything she had previously thought about him had been proved untrue by his story. He wasn't evil. He wasn't power hungry or cold-hearted. He was just a very confused boy who had a very rough upbringing.

"I guess my plans to teach the avatar fire bending are kind of pointless now. He already has his teacher." He looked at Aaliyah pointedly. She smiled slightly and shrugged.

"Well I don't see how they will accept me now." He looked utterly defeated.

"They will if I vouch for you."

Zuko looked up at her, surprised by her words. "You would do that?" he asked incredulously.

"I can tell that you're sincere. You really want to help, and we're going to need all the help we can get." She replied.

Zuko's smile almost split his face in two. The beauty of that radiant smile had shown Aaliyah what she needed to see. Beneath all the mistakes of his past, Prince Zuko was truly a good person inside. He just needed a chance to show it.

Morning had arrived at the temple. Katara hummed a tune as she carried Aaliyah's breakfast to her. The girl needed to get her strength back up to resume Aang's training. Imagine her surprise when she walked in to see the fire benders bed empty.

She quickly went to find Aang, only to find that him and the others had already found her. She had just returned from wherever she went, with Zuko in tow.

"Aaliyah, would you mind telling us what the hell is going on?" Sokka asked, confused and defensive. Zuko's presence made him feel uneasy.

Aaliyah cleared her throat nervously. "Well, you see, last night, after my head had cleared, I thought I should pay a visit to Zuko to figure out what happened to my father. And as you can see, things went fairly well." She poked the Prince's cheek. "See? Still alive." She then smiled cheekily at the group.

"Uh, okay. But, why is he with you right now?" Aang asked, completely baffled by the bizarre change of events.

"Oh, I think he should join our group." Aaliyah stated rather bluntly

A loud chorus of disbelief and defiance rose up among the children. "Hey!" Aaliyah shouted trying to shut them up.

When the crowd did not silence themselves, she decided to use a different approach. She clapped her hands above her head and a wave of bright white flames erupted above the children's heads. They all ducked and the angry chatter ceased.

She smirked at finally shutting them up. "Okay, now, as I was saying. I believe Zuko should join our group. That's the reason he first came to the temple, but uh, I sort of interrupted him before he could explain. Anyway, I think he has a lot to offer. I know you all don't trust him. Hell, I still don't trust him fully. But, we need all the help we can get."

The group stared at her, defiance shining in their eyes. Finally Toph stepped forward, deciding to be the voice of reason. "I agree with her. Zuko may not be our favorite person, but he could prove to be valuable to us. Besides I'm not sensing any lies or false pretenses."

Aang spoke up next. "I don't like it. But I can see the logic in it." Zuko sighed with relief. With the Avatar on board then he might be accepted.

"What do you guys think?" Aang asked, looking back at Sokka and Katara. "I just want to defeat the fire lord, and if you think Zuko can help, then I'm all for it." Aang nodded and looked over to Katara.

Her eyes were hard and cold as she glared at Zuko. She finally sighed and looked at Aang. "I'll go along with whatever you think is best."

Zuko let out another relieved sigh. He was in. He could help now. He looked over at Aaliyah who offered a tight lipped smile before walking off. _Now for the truly hard part, _he thought. _Earning everyone's trust._

**_

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A/N: No, Zuko is not planning anything devious. Don't worry though, the hot-blooded, temperamental, bad boy we all love has not disappeared with his new found pure intentions. And yes, Aaliyah now shoots white fire. Why? Cause she's just that good, man. & I thought it was pretty bad ass. Besides, she needs something to set her apart from the other fire benders. And though she may be amazing, she will still get her ass kicked by Zuko later on. I figure it wouldn't be very manly if the girl he liked could kick his butt all the time. Kind of a turn off.

**_I love, love, love all my reviewers. If it wasn't for your awesome reviews, I probably would have deleted this long ago. So, thank you. (:_**

**_As usual, please excuse any spelling/grammatical errors. A beta would be lovely. (:_**

**_xInspired_**


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